'There isn't anywhere to go': Ontario halfway house for aging inmates addressing gap in prison system

According to the Office of the Correctional Investigator (OCI), 1 in 4 federal inmates behind bars is 50 or older — which classifies them as older offenders because serving time can add about 10 years to a chronological age.

In response to the number of aging offenders behind bars and on parole, the OCI and the Canadian Human Rights Commission are set to release a report later this fall on what they call "the systemic discrimination of aging and elderly offenders."

"The system is trying to play catch-up," said Jeff Morgan, Haley House's casework manager. "Nobody stepped back and said, 'Hey, we got these older guys, what are we going to do with them? When they get sick, when they go out and we still have to monitor them, where are we going to put them?'

"You end up with guys that are sitting inside [prison], that are granted parole — but they can't leave, because there isn't anywhere to go," said Morgan, a retired, 32-year veteran of the Peterborough Police Service.